An Ekiti State High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, has sent ex Bursar of Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Elijah Oladapo, to prison without an option of fine for demanding and receiving N500,000 kickback on the contract awarded by the institution.
Delivering the judgment on the case that had dragged since 2021, the trial judge, Justice A. L. Ogunmoye sentenced Oladapo to two years imprisonment on counts 8 to 9 without an option of fine and has since been sent to the correctional centre to serve his time.
The judge also sentenced him to five years imprisonment for counts 4 to 7 with an option of fine of N1.2 million.
The convict was first arraigned in court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in 2021 alongside the former Rector of the same Institution, Mrs. Theresa Taiwo Akande, for allegedly receiving over N500,000 as kickbacks from a contractor handling construction projects in the school.
In a nine-count charge filed before the court, ICPC averred that the actions of the officers contravened Sections 8(1) (a) 19 and 20 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The accused persons had pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them, which set the tone for the long trial.
During the trial, the court heard about how the convict had, in 2015, abused his office by demanding and receiving kickbacks from a contractor handling the construction and furnishing of lecture theatres and offices in the school.
In his ruling, Justice Ogunmoye discharged and acquitted the first defendant, Mrs. Akande. He found Oladapo guilty of the charges.
